Fourth of July

So we're a month late with this update, but here is what we did for Fourth of July. We were thinking about leaving town and heading out somewhere we could actually light fireworks, but in the end we decided to stay in and just make the journey downtown to watch the fireworks in the park. It was a pretty low key day.

Gary decided to start the day with a bike ride. He went with my aunt and uncle to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and rode 50 miles. He had a lot of fun. 

We ended up spending most of the evening with my sister and her children, which was a lot of fun for Peri! She loves her cousins. We braved going downtown to find a parking space, but it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be to find a space. The prices were actually pretty reasonable too, so that was a bonus.

We found a spot on the grass just a little bit away from where the  fireworks launched, and had a fun time waiting and chatting and playing. After a while we decided we had the munchies, so we got some mini donuts (6 dozen) and a bag of kettle corn. They were really yummy!

Peri and Jeilyn. They are best buds.

Gary, Peri, and Kinton. Also best buds.

Gary's goofy face.

Having a good time posing for the camera. Kinton took this picture of us!

Peri thought the fireworks were really pretty and very loud, but she had a good time. She even figured out when to say "ooooo" and "aaaahhh". It was pretty cute.

Then it was a made hike to the garage, and when we got to our cars and were ready to leave, there was some kind of stall and nobody was going anywhere for some reason we still haven't figured out. So we got out of the car again, and waited inside the mall, so we wouldn't get carbon monoxide poisoning from all the idling cars. And other than possible death-by-asphyxiation, we had a really nice time out with the cousins.

Old McDonald Had a Farm

I've been working diligently the last few days on framing up the second basement room. I've been working with deliveries of twenty sticks of 2x4 at a time, and I'm making short work of it. The outer walls have been replaced and I've even sectioned off the new "sleeping nook" and "crawl-in closet". This I finished yesterday to the sounds of Peri singing with her mom and aunt somewhere upstairs. We were able to closely replicate it yesterday for a video, which is below. Note that Peri is very aware of the camera when we record, and she usually won't do any of her tricks, so I was very surreptitious and got the audio.

It brought a great smile to me to hear my daughter belt out "EEE-IIII-EEE-III-OOOOOOO!!!!" at the top of her lungs, out of time.

Also in Peri's repertoire: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", "Lullabye, Lullabye", and "Ring Around the Rosey."

Anyways, I just wanted to share this quickly.

We've Added to Peri's Backyard Playground!

Naomi and I made some additions to Peri's backyard play area. We were at the Home Depot, and in the cull bin was a big group of pressure treated 4x6 timbers for $2 per stick. A length of pipe, some clamps, and several bags of cement later, Peri has an awesome horizontal bar to swing on. She promptly figured out the best application for it:

We originally thought that the next addition would be a balance beam, but that was superseded by a push-cart. See, we found an old, old riding lawnmower on the side of the garden shed, and Peri immediately jumped up into the seat and grabbed the wheel. She wouldn't let go. I peeled her out of it and she ran right back to it as soon as I put her down. Peri just loves to drive. I wheeled her over to the playground area and a half-hour later we finally went inside. Later, after dinner, Peri went back out with me and my wrenches so we could "fix it." I removed the cutting deck and the engine, leaving the wheels, seat, frame, and steering. Peri was glad to help and kept asking me if I was "fixing it."

Now Peri has always been inclined to help me on projects. At six months, she was very adept at setting screws for me while building shelves. She really loved using the wrenches on this mower. When we were done, she was really happy to hop up into the seat again and steer.

So, next week, we'll get back to the balance beam project. In the mean time, we're driving.

Peri's Very First Easter Egg Hunt!

So last Easter Peri was only just crawling, so she didn't really participate in Easter hunts last year. Every year since I can remember, my aunt Barbara has done the Easter egg hunts for us. Since our family started having grandchildren before all the assorted cousins and such grew up all the way, she's pretty much been doing it for the past gazillion years. And kudos to her, because it's always a lot of fun! Peri is currently the youngest child, so she got to go out first to find the eggs hiding in the grass in the middle of the lawn before the less scrupulous and more enterprising cousins could come out and snipe the easy ones.

At first she had no idea what was going on, but she was game to tote her little bucket outside to play anyway. I showed her the eggs, but for a while she was more content to shake them like maracas instead of collect them  in her bucket. Then one of them broke open and she realized what exactly those eggs were good for.

Oh? What's this?

Is that candy?

It is candy!

And there's more in those eggs, you say?

Why didn't you tell me?

She was battling a cold that week, so that's why her nose is so ookie.

So those are the only pictures we got, unfortunately, since I forgot the camera and I'm the only one who takes pictures anymore apparently. My aunt usually puts about 20 eggs out per round, and then we go for 3 or 4 rounds, so she and her two cousins ended up with a LOT of candy. After she figured out the whole game, she was grabbing up her easy middle-of-the-lawn-eggs and then going after the harder-to-find-on-the-edges-of-the-yard-eggs. She had tons of fun and is still munching bits of her candy every day. It's going to be a while before she makes a dent, especially since Mom and Dad might have gone a little overboard on her Easter basket this year too.

Peri also got some pretty neat gifts from her grandparents for Easter, and she loves them all. She has lots of activities to do and some new clothes to wear outside as it gets warmer. Plus a few new furry friends that she sleeps with and plays with. Thank you grandparents!

On Sunday (all of our bunny-type Easter things happen on Saturday, because Sunday is for churchy things) we would have gone to church, except we were all sick with the most terrible head cold that day. It was pretty sad. We did, however, muster up the energy that evening to tell Peri about the Resurrection and the real reason we celebrate Easter. I made some felt pieces for her new felt board and used it to tell the story while our Resurrection Rolls were in the oven. Peri listened very well, but I think the actual symbolism is beyond her yet. She also wasn't in the mood for anything sweet at the time, so she opted to skip eating the yummy treat. Eh, there's always next year!